Earlier today Michael Schofield confirmed via Facebook that DCFS removed his children Bodhi and Jani from his ex-wife Susan’s home. In an interview via messenger, Michael also provided details about the court case and the status of his children.

When news leaked early Saturday morning that CPS removed Jani and Bodhi, forums and social media scrambled to verify the claims. I reached out to Susan, Michael, and Susan’s mother to substantiate the claims. Neither Susan nor her mother responded to my request.

However, Michael responded to confirm the rumor and answer several questions about the case. According to Michael, DCFS removed both children on Friday afternoon.

Michael said, “I can confirm they were removed Friday. As far as I know, right now, they are in a shelter. The initial court date is Wednesday the 13th.”

After he shared that information, he went on to say,

“I’m worried about them. I spoke to Jani briefly yesterday, and she seemed fine, although she wanted to go home. Bodhi seems to be okay based on what I have been told. I am flying out there on Tuesday.”

Michael continued that he had been in the loop that DCFS would be removing the children. However, he said the county never told him when they planned to remove the kids. According to Michael, the staff at DCFS believed that Susan exaggerated Bodhi’s symptoms in her search for a diagnosis of schizophrenia.

In regards to why the county removed Jani, Michael said that they believe Susan was mismanaging one of her medications Thorazine. The medication is only prescribed on an as-needed basis. However, they think Susan may have been giving the medication too liberally to Jani. Michael also said that the staff suggested that Susan is a negative influence on Jani.

Unfortunately, the children were removed from her home on a day that Michael could not fly to California. On the same day, the county removed the kids Michael’s new wife gave birth via c-section to their child. As a result, the county placed the children in an emergency shelter.

Following the removal, Michael said both children had physical assessments by a doctor. He also signed a consent form to have both children seen by a psychiatrist. Both children were seen on Saturday by the psychiatrist.

Regarding the on-going case, Michael said he would fly to California on Tuesday. Their first court appearance is on Wednesday where the county will lay out their case against Susan.

Michael said that he would love to gain custody of the kids. However, he isn’t sure how long the case will take and whether the county will allow him to move the kids to his new home in Minnesota.

When he thinks about Susan regaining custody of the children, Michael was clear that she needs a lot of professional help to be a fit parent.

“I believe Susan needs a lot of mental health treatment in order to care for Jani and Bodhi properly.” he shared.

There has been a lot of speculation that Dr. Charles Sophy, medical director of Los Angeles DCFS, orchestrated the removal of the children following Susan’s appearance on Dr. Phil. Michael could not confirm if Dr. Sophy’s office played a role in the removal. However, he speculated that the orders might have come from the medical director’s office.

For now, Michael says the kids are doing well and are safe from Susan. He plans to attend the hearing on March 13 and said he will update me with the details from the hearing.

Read the full conversation between Michael and me:

Watch my Live Broadcast on the case:

*Katie Joy is a columnist and hosts Without A Crystal Ball on Patheos Non-Religious Channel. She writes articles on parenting, disability advocacy, debunking pseudoscience, atheism, and crimes against women and children.

She co-hosts the YouTube show, “The Smoking Nun,” with Kyle Curtis. The show airs weekly and tackles pseudoscience, current events, and crime stories.

It doesn’t seem like the kids’ detainment was based on “removable” grounds – she’s a bad influence on Jani? If we removed all kids whose parents were bad influences, more than half of the children in this country would be in their state’s custody. And because Susan feels Bodhi is schizophrenic? So? She did not give the kids any medication that they weren’t prescribed…. Don’t get me wrong, I know she’s in need of great mental health and that the kids would be better off in a responsible household, but I’m wondering about the reasons for detainment – seems shakey to me. My guess is that there’s going to be a lawsuit by Susan now. BTW, I know this family personally. They’ve been a hot mess for years. I babysat Jani a few times – she proved that Susan and Michael’s claim, that she only would eat particular foods, that they needed money to take her to CPK for every meal, were a bunch of BS I made her a grilled cheese sandwich and she gobbled it up. I have so many opinions about these people. I just need to cork it, it will all come out in time….

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Atrocity the way they used that child as a poster kid for the psychiatric drugging industry.